Korean Language Pronunciation: A Guide for Beginners82

The Korean language is spoken by over 80 million people worldwide, making it one of the most widely spoken languages in East Asia. It is the official language of both North and South Korea, and is also spoken in China, Japan, and the United States.

Korean is a relatively easy language to learn for native English speakers, as it has a simple grammar and a relatively small number of sounds. However, the pronunciation of Korean can be a bit tricky for beginners, as it uses several sounds that are not found in English.

Vowels

Korean has 21 vowels, which are divided into two main categories: monophthongs and diphthongs. Monophthongs are single vowel sounds, while diphthongs are combinations of two vowel sounds.

Monophthongs

The following table shows the monophthongs of Korean:
Letter IPA Example
ㅏ [a] 아 (a)
ㅑ [ja] 야 (ya)
ㅓ [ʌ] 어 (ŏ)
ㅕ [jʌ] 여 (yŏ)
ㅗ [o] 오 (o)
ㅛ [jo] 요 (yo)
ㅜ [u] 우 (u)
ㅠ [ju] 유 (yu)
ㅡ [ɯ] 으 (ŭ)
ㅣ [i] 이 (i)

Diphthongs

The following table shows the diphthongs of Korean:
Letter IPA Example
ㅐ [ɛ] ㅐ (ae)
ㅒ [jɛ] ㅒ (yae)
ㅔ [e] ㅔ (e)
ㅖ [je] ㅖ (ye)
ㅘ [wa] ㅘ (wa)
ㅝ [wʌ] ㅝ (wŏ)
ㅢ [ɰi] ㅢ (ŭi)

Consonants

Korean has 19 consonants, which are divided into two main categories: obstruents and resonants.

Obstruents

Obstruents are consonants that are produced by blocking the flow of air through the vocal tract. Korean has 11 obstruents:
Letter IPA Example
ㄱ [k] 가 (ga)
ㄴ [n] 나 (na)
ㄷ [t] 다 (da)
ㄹ [l] 라 (ra)
ㅁ [m] 마 (ma)
ㅂ [p] 바 (ba)
ㅅ [s] 사 (sa)
ㅇ [ŋ] 아 (a)
ㅈ [tʃ] 자 (ja)
ㅊ [tɕ] 차 (cha)
ㅋ [kʰ] 카 (ka)
ㅌ [tʰ] 타 (ta)
ㅍ [pʰ] 파 (pa)
ㅎ [h] 하 (ha)

Resonants

Resonants are consonants that are produced by allowing air to flow freely through the vocal tract. Korean has 8 resonants:
Letter IPA Example
ㄹ [l] 라 (ra)
ㅁ [m] 마 (ma)
ㄴ [n] 나 (na)
ㅇ [ŋ] 아 (a)
ㅈ [tʃ] 자 (ja)
ㅅ [s] 사 (sa)
ㅎ [h] 하 (ha)

Tones

Korean has three tones: high, mid, and low. The tone of a syllable is determined by the pitch of the vowel sound. High tones are produced with a high pitch, mid tones are produced with a mid pitch, and low tones are produced with a low pitch.

The tone of a syllable can affect the meaning of a word. For example, the word "새" (새) can mean "bird" when it is pronounced with a high tone, and "new" when it is pronounced with a low tone.

Pronunciation Guide

The following are some tips for pronouncing Korean sounds:* The vowel sound "ㅏ" is pronounced like the "a" in "father".
* The vowel sound "ㅑ" is pronounced like the "ya" in "yard".
* The vowel sound "ㅓ" is pronounced like the "ŏ" in "cot".
* The vowel sound "ㅕ" is pronounced like the "yŏ" in "yacht".
* The vowel sound "ㅗ" is pronounced like the "o" in "go".
* The vowel sound "ㅛ" is pronounced like the "yo" in "yo-yo".
* The vowel sound "ㅜ" is pronounced like the "u" in "put".
* The vowel sound "ㅠ" is pronounced like the "yu" in "yule".
* The vowel sound "ㅡ" is pronounced like the "ŭ" in "run".
* The vowel sound "ㅣ" is pronounced like the "i" in "sit".
* The consonant sound "ㄱ" is pronounced like the "k" in "kick".
* The consonant sound "ㄴ" is pronounced like the "n" in "nose".
* The consonant sound "ㄷ" is pronounced like the "t" in "top".
* The consonant sound "ㄹ" is pronounced like the "l" in "lip".
* The consonant sound "ㅁ" is pronounced like the "m" in "mom".
* The consonant sound "ㅂ" is pronounced like the "p" in "pop".
* The consonant sound "ㅅ" is pronounced like the "s" in "sit".
* The consonant sound "ㅇ" is pronounced like the "ng" in "sing".
* The consonant sound "ㅈ" is pronounced like the "ch" in "chip".
* The consonant sound "ㅊ" is pronounced like the "ch" in "church".
* The consonant sound "ㅋ" is pronounced like the "k" in "kit".
* The consonant sound "ㅌ" is pronounced like the "t" in "top".
* The consonant sound "ㅍ" is pronounced like the "p" in "pop".
* The consonant sound "ㅎ" is pronounced like the "h" in "hat".